


Sounds So Simple

by russianmango



Series: 30 in 30 [29]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Carolina Hurricanes, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-29
Updated: 2013-03-29
Packaged: 2017-12-06 21:39:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/740449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/russianmango/pseuds/russianmango
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Simple: Coming to a new team should have been simple, but it seemed to be anything but.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sounds So Simple

It sounded so simple. All he had to do was go inside and meet his new team, say hi and introduce himself. He knew some of the guys already, at least by name. So it couldn't be that bad, right?

Only, it was. When Sasha walked into the dressing room to meet everybody, they stared at him like he had done something wrong already. It's possibly the worst feeling, second to losing in the playoffs or losing a loved one. He looked to Eric and he gave Sasha a weak smile that was less than encouraging. Further scan of the room and two other people smiled back at him. Skinner and a guy he recognised, but couldn't place. He looked like he wanted to say something, though. Sorry, maybe?

The thing was, Sasha never felt this hated in Washington. They didn't technically need him, they had enough scorers and maybe they needed better defence, coaching. But, regardless of what the media said, it never sunk into the locker room. He was aware that he wasn't the most liked guy on the team, but they were at least friendly to his face, on the ice. He hadn't been in the room for five minutes and he already felt like he'd let them down.

Regardless, Sasha had been through worse. It really didn't matter what they thought about him. It was one year and he planned to play hockey.

"We meet again," Sasha heard from beside him. He turned to see Corvo. He had forgotten Joe was on the team. "Hi," Sasha said, putting out his hand. He really didn't know what else to do, they weren't really friends when he was on the Capitals. Joe laughed, patted Sasha on the back. "Welcome to the great Raleigh," he continued.

"Thanks," Sasha said with a small smile. What else could he say? The warmest welcome came from a former teammate, who probably only felt sorry for him. It wasn't a full locker room, some of the guys hadn't made it down there yet, but the majority of the team was there from what he could tell. He could only guess it wouldn't be much better.

Eric got everyone's attention and they set out to the ice. "Look guys, I don't know what the lines will be, but we're just going to try some things out, okay?" he shouted. "Semin, you're with me and Jordy to start, okay?"

Semin nodded and looked out to the ice as Eric listed off all the other lines. Simple. Play hockey. He could do that.

Practice seemed to work out pretty well. It was more put together than pre-season practices ever were with the Caps, not that he joined very many of them. He seemed to have some chemistry with the Staals, too. 

When practice ended and they cleared off the ice, Sasha got the cold shoulder again. Not from everyone, but the tension was still there. He showered, dressed, and was about to leave, when Jiri, the familiar guy, asked if he wanted to get drinks or something. Part of Sasha wanted to say no. He'd been so exhausted from the flight, meeting everybody, but he didn't want to seem rude. 

Jiri took him to some bar that seemed okay, if not a little rusty. "Not such a warm welcome, eh?" Jiri started. Sasha laughed. "You noticed?"

Jiri shrugged. "They'll warm up. They hated me when I first came here," he added, "but most of the team was different."

"Why did they hate you?" Sasha asked.

"I did some stupid shit when I was in juniors that bit me in the ass later on. Got traded here for it, I think," Jiri answered, like it was nothing.

"What kind of stupid?"

Jiri looked up at him. Sasha felt kind of bad for asking, since people gave him shit about it. He was just trying to make conversation, though. "You don't have to answer," Sasha added.

Jiri shrugged. "Just some poor decision making on my part - some pictures were taken that were less than pleasing to the Maple Leafs organization."

Sasha couldn't help but laugh. "Drinking involved?"

"For the most part, yeah," Jiri sighed. "I was technically under age, too, but it was close enough to believe I was nineteen." Sasha knew what it was like to be young, stupid. 

They spent a little more time getting to know each other, talking about the team and everything. Sasha started to feel his cheeks heat up around the third beer and decided it was probably time to head out. He thanked Jiri for his time and exchanged numbers when Jiri offered to show him around town. 

Sasha paced around his hotel room for a few minutes before he finally sat at his laptop and typed "Jiri Tlusty" in his search engine. It didn't take much scrolling to find what Jiri was talking about. He smirked a bit at the pictures of Jiri with some guy - reminded him of himself and Alex or Mike. It was a little too close for normal, but close enough for drunk to explain it. And then there are the other pictures. To be honest, Sasha felt a little guilty looking at them. Even if he'd already seen him naked in the locker room, he didn't look. Not to mention Jiri was only eighteen when they were taken.  

Sasha closed the internet and powered off his laptop. At the very least, he should be fun to drink with?

\------ -----

Jiri texted Sasha when he would be there to pick him up, giving Sasha a thirty minute heads up. Sasha got dressed and headed down. He'd make Jiri show him some place to eat.

The tour around town wasn't very fancy, or informative. As it turned out Jiri didn't do a whole lot. He did, however, know of good bars and food places, so he could get the grand tour from somebody else. Or maybe Google.

They were somewhere in between eating breakfast and talking about team dynamics, when Jiri stopped talking. "You googled me, didn't you?"

"What?" Sasha asked

"You haven't made eye contact nearly this whole time, and when you have it’s been forced." Jiri explained, adding, "Look, I get it. I don't blame you for looking."

"I'm sorry," Sasha said, admitting it.

"What'd you think?" Jiri asked. Sasha's head shot up. How can he just ask like that? But Jiri got serious. "You have a problem with me kissing another guy?"

"No, I don't," Sasha defended. "Besides, you were young - means nothing when you're young."

"What if I am gay?" Jiri asked.

"Then you are gay. Makes no difference to me," Sasha answered. "Is this some sort of test?"

"Yes," Jiri answered. "If we're going to be friends, I don't want to be blind-sided with anger from homophobic Russians."

Sasha stared at him. It was clear, apart from the pictures, he had faced some pretty harsh things. Like him, like Alex. They protect themselves before letting people in. Sasha smiled. "Won't find any homophobic Russian here," he answered. 

Jiri laughed. "So, friends?"

"Yes," Sasha answered, rolling his eyes. Jiri was not unlike Semyon, when he first came along. Only, this time Sasha was the new one.

The next few days were filled with less cold stares, but not overly welcome appearances, either. Still, Sasha showed up to the little practices and took his lines, worked hard. Afterwards, he joined Jiri to tea and lunch so they could gossip about their old teams, experiences.

The more Sasha got to know him, the more he reminded Sasha of all his friends back in Washington. Silly like Mike, crazy like Alex, young like Nicky, charming like Sergei, strict like Brooks. Serious like Varly - that one came out in pieces.

Sasha missed everybody, but at the same time, he really liked Jiri. And the rest of the guys seemed to be catching that Sasha wasn't a threat.

"Do you miss guys from the Leafs?" Sasha asked, during lunch.

Jiri shrugged. "Most guys I played with are gone now," he pointed out. "Guess there's a big turnover rate," he added. Sasha nodded, staying silent.

"I do miss some of the boys though," Jiri got serious. "It just didn't work out. I'm closer with these guys, though. And they accept me for me," he sighed.

"They didn't in Toronto?" Sasha asked.

"It was too soon, I think. In too much public. Guys defended me, but not in public," he shrugged. "I don't blame them, though. Things are different now, different here." There was a moment of silence between them. It was a moment of understanding, because things were different in Carolina. "Anyway, they're good to me. Like I said, just give it a little more time."

"As long as I score, you mean," Sasha said. He wasn't stupid, people liked him in Washington when he was scoring, then hated him when he wasn't. He's not sure it was limited to just fans or media, either.

"If all else fails, you can get Skinner chocolate and he'll never stop loving you," Jiri offered.

"Bribery?" Sasha laughed.

"In most cases it’s bad, but I'm not sure anything that makes Skinner smile like that is wrong," Jiri said.

"You and Jeff?" Sasha asked, hoping he wasn't over-stepping.

"No, no. Jeff is Jeff - like everybody's little brother. Also, he's with Jared Staal. I think."

"Think?"

"I've walked in on stuff? Nothing horrible, but enough to get the idea." Jiri explained.

"Does Jared know you give his boy chocolate in exchange for smiles?" Sasha teased.

"He gave me the idea," Jiri answered before laughing loudly. "Not even joking."

"And how do I get Jiri to smile?" Sasha asked with a small smile.

"Simple, tequila," Jiri answered with a smile of his own. "Just kidding. Jiri likes simple pleasures. Pizza, beer, movie. Guy stuff."

"Sounds like the perfect date," Sasha said before he could stop himself.

Jiri just stared. "Yeah?"

"Apart from dress, I'm simple guy, too. Not all Russians overly complicated," Sasha smiled. "Or homophobic."

Jiri smiled. He looked comfortable now, even though he hadn't looked uncomfortable before. "You want to come over tonight?" Jiri asked. "I have beer and movies, we can order pizza," he added.

"Sure," Sasha answered. "What time?"

"Seven okay?" Jiri asked.

"Sure. I have some running around to do before I come over, so I should probably get going."

"Alright, see you at seven!" Jiri beamed.

\------ -----

Sasha sat in his hotel room, staring at the clock and thinking of an excuse to not go. It wasn't right for him to go. Jiri was younger and just wants a friend, not a boyfriend. Nervous, he picked up his phone and called Mike for advice. 

"Is he even gay?" Mike asked.

"Yes, he told me. That's not the part I'm worried about, Mike. I've been here a month and I really like him"

"More than me?" Mike asked. That wasn't fair, Sasha thought.

"It's different."

"Why, because he's actually gay?" Mike asked. "I was kidding, but good to know you still care about me."

"I miss you all," Sasha sighed. "What should I do?"

"Go and have fun. Stop thinking so much. It'll either happen or it won't. Oh, and don't fuck. Not at first."

"I wasn't going to," Sasha said with a blush, trying to ignore Mike's laugh.

"Fine, I'm just adding a tip for the sake of saying it. Don't force it and see where it'll go, okay?"

"Yeah," Sasha said, trying to convince himself. "I should get going. Thanks Mike."

"No problem, have fun," Mike said, leaving Sasha to his own devices.

It's not bad. Like Mike said, just have fun. Sasha pulled on his nice jeans and a snug-fitting striped shirt he was pretty sure actually belonged to Mike at some point. Regardless, it looked better on Sasha.

After a final check in the mirror, Sasha took his keys and headed out the door. 

\------ -----

The night wasn't as awkward as Sasha had feared. It was actually really laid back, just the two hanging out and talking over a pizza and some beer. Sasha was having a good time and it stopped feeling wrong. It wasn't technically wrong, anyway. Jiri was of age and only four years younger and they were just hanging out.

Jiri was talking about how everyone lightly picked on Skinner because you just couldn't get him down and Sasha smiled. "Sounds like Mike, actually. Except, last year or two were kind of rough on him," Sasha said. He hadn't meant to. Actually, pretty much all night he'd been making comparisons to the Capitals that were usually just in his head. 

"You miss them?" Jiri asked. Sasha nodded, cheeks flushing a little as he realized Jiri caught on - how could he not? "It's okay, you know," Jiri continued. "You were with them your whole career; you're allowed to talk about them."

Sasha laughed. "You make me sound old."

"Not that much older than me," Jiri smiled. "I just know how it can be. When I left the Leafs - Kaberle was a huge influence in my life. Not having him with me after that was really hard. And you seemed really close with most of them," he added. 

Sasha nodded. "Hockey sucks," he declared before falling into laughter. "Business sucks, maybe. Split friends!" 

"Who do you miss the most?" Jiri asked. Sasha wasn't sure what he was trying at, but he shrugged. How could he pick? "Did you get to see Ovechkin in Russia?"

Sasha shrugged. "A bit? Not really, though. He was all over the place with his girlfriend. I talked a lot with Mike, though. Still do, actually," Sasha laughed. He knew he possibly shouldn't go on, but he couldn't help himself - beer made him social. "I actually called him today," he explained, "I asked him if I should stand you up or not."

"What?" Jiri asked, confused.

"No, no. Not like that," Sasha defended. "I want to spend time with you, but I was worried you'd think was coming on to you or something, you know?”

"Oh," Jiri nodded, still not getting it. "You don't have to stay," he added.

"No," Sasha groaned. "Is problem that I want to stay. I like you, but I've not been involved with teammate before. So, Mike just tell me relax and not think. He say 'Sasha, have fun! Don't think about it and see what happen!' and I tell him okay, because I really wanted to go."

"So, this wasn't just hanging out to you?" Jiri asked. 

Sasha shrugged. "I wasn't sure."

"What do you want?" Jiri asked. Sasha thought about it. They had a lot in common, despite their differences, and it'd be kind of nice if things worked out. But he couldn't guarantee it would.

"See how it goes?" Sasha asked. Jiri knew about Sasha's anxieties, so hopefully he understood what Sasha meant.

Jiri smirked. "Try, I can do. But only for you," he said warmly. "I rented Ghostbusters. It's not really a date movie, but is it okay?"

Sasha nodded and moved in closer to Jiri as they prepared for the movie.

Simple.


End file.
